The outbreak of “scallop wars” has led to condemnation of the French for deliberately putting the lives of British fishermen at risk by bombarding their boats with stones, smoke bombs and flares and even setting one alight.

While the French claimed they were justified because of a ban imposed on scallop fishing by French President Emmanuel Macron, the British boats were entitled to fish for scallops in the waters which were outside an exclusion zone of 12 miles from the French coat.

The incident has highlighted how Britain needs to get out of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)which has forced the UK fishing fleet outside British waters because foreign vessels have plundered 60 per cent of british fish stocks.

In a statement Mr Gove made it clear that the French authorities need to uphold international law.

The outbreak of “scallop wars” has led to condemnation of the French (Image: REUTERS)

He said: “My heart goes out to the British fishermen who were caught up in the terrible scenes that we saw happen earlier this week.

“They were fishing entirely legally, they had every right to be in those waters and we talked to the French authorities in order to ensure that we have a protocol.

“These are French waters - it’s the responsibility of the French to ensure that those who have a legal right to fish can continue to fish uninterrupted.”

Mr Gove led the Vote Leave campaign during the EU referendum and said that his desire to quit the Eu came from his father who was forced to close down his business because of the EU fishing policy.

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The French fishing boats pushed into the British ones (Image: REUTERS)

The incident did not take place in the 12-mile national exclusion zone on the French side or six-mile zone on the British side.

The French fishing boats which had sailed up from Normandy pushed into the British ones while rocks were thrown at the British fishermen who had been fishing for scallops.

South East Cornwall MP Sheryll Murray said that the the french fishing boats had put the lives of British fishermen at risk.

She said: "The French authorities have the responsibility for enforcing the rules on the French side of the median line, which is the line drawn down the centre of the English Channel, but there seems to be no evidence whatsoever that the French authorities took any action.

"I think it is just a disgrace.

"We have to draw a conclusion that the message sends out - I'm not saying they deliberately did not prevent the action, but questions have got to be asked.

"Have they got enough people to enforce their side of the channel? Are they simply just turning a blind because they feel the fishermen have a very strong voice? I'm not sure."

The Conservative MP lost her husband, who was also a fisherman, in an accident at sea in 2011.

His intervention came as Prime Minister Theresa May appealed for an amicable solution to the row (Image: EPA)

She added: "It is totally unacceptable when British boats are doing nothing wrong, they are allowed to fish there.

"It seems as though the French fisherman just took the law into their own hands.”

She went on: “When you start seeing fishing vessels damaged - and as a former fishing owner I know how much these things cost - it is certainly totally unacceptable.

"I have been assured by Michael Gove that appropriate measures are in place to enable to fishermen to carry on fishing, I'm waiting to hear a further update from him later today.

Mr Gove was responding to fury over the assault by 35 French boats against five British boats (Image: GETTY)

"I asked if we had any fishery protection vessels that could go in and defend our fisherman and he said 'appropriate measures are in place'."

The scallop wars will put pressure on Mrs May to find funds for more fishing patrol boats to defend British waters after Brexit with claims that French fishermen are breaching the six-mile exclusion zone around the UK coast.

Former environment secretary Owen Paterson a leading campaigner for Brexit, said that the attack had shown why Mrs May’s flawed Chequers plan cannot work and why the UK needs full independence from the EU.

He pointed out that the British boats had been forced into international waters because of EU rules allowing foreign boats to plunder British resources within six miles of the coast line.

He said: “This is rank hypocrisy by the French who have broken rules the rules on many occasions by fishing within the British six-mile exclusion zone and have forced British fishermen into international waters by plundering our stocks.”